Chain of Secrets

by Jaleta Clegg

  Vance steered the groundcar into the port, pausing only long enough at the gate to swipe a card through an automated scanner. It opened the gate and let us onto the field. The groundcar rolled to a stop. He turned to me with a grin. It faded when he saw my face. "You don't look good. Let's get you inside."

  "Inside where, Vance?" I was tired and I hurt.

  "My friend borrowed his father's yacht. Come on. I think you'll like Bud."

  "His name is Bud?"

  "Nickname," Vance answered. He pushed the buttons to send the groundcar back. "He prefers it to Flash. That was the name he earned at the Academy."

  Vance opened my door and helped me out. He had his arm around me, more than half carrying me up the ramp into a small yacht. It was as big as the Phoenix, if you didn't count the cargo bays. The engine was bigger. Even through the haze of pain, I noted that. I couldn't help noticing. I missed my ship and being in space.

  Vance shut the hatch. We were immediately surrounded by soft noises and softer carpet. The air smelled fresh, not recycled. The layout was customized, which by itself told me how expensive the ship had to be. There was a fairly large lounge area with a small cockpit at the front. The main feature of the lounge was a half circle of couch upholstered in a white fabric that was warm and soft to the touch. It faced the front of the ship where a big viewscreen hung, silver and opaque at the moment. Vance took me to the couch and settled me at one end of the curve.

  "Just lay down and take it easy," he told me.

  I lay back, biting my lip at the pain. The couch was incredibly soft. I relaxed into it, feeling the slightest vibration as a massaging unit activated. Warmth spread through me.

  "Be right back," Vance said.

  I watched him hurry across the lounge towards the back of the ship. There were two wide steps that led up to a second level. Two doors opened off the level. Vance disappeared into one. Cabins, I assumed. I wondered if there was a crew aboard and where they lived. The lounge took up most of the space on the ship.

  There was an automatic galley located between the two cabin doors, the ultra deluxe version. I wondered how it compared to Jasyn's cooking. I closed my eyes on a sudden wave of homesickness and drifted into a doze. I was only partly aware of Vance tucking a blanket around me and propping a pillow behind my head.

  "Dace?" Vance was leaning over me. I blinked myself out of a dream involving blankets that transformed into furry snakes.

  "Doesn't look like any Admiral I've ever seen," an unfamiliar voice said above me. I had to crane my neck to see the speaker. He was tall and heavyset. His hair was medium brown, cut in a long style that didn't flatter him. His features didn't need flattering. He had a chiseled profile and piercing green eyes. He smiled easily at me. "I hope you're worth it."

  "She is," Vance assured him. "But right now, we need to get her away. Before they realize she isn't in her bed at the hospital."

  "You kidnapped her from the hospital?" the stranger demanded of Vance. "What kind of idiot are you?" He turned his eyes back to me. They were kind, full of sympathy. "Are you sure you don't need a medic?"

  "I'll be fine," I murmured, "with a bit of rest. Do you want me to call you Bud or Flash?"

  "Call me Max," he said. "And this fleabitten toad should be called—"

  "You wouldn't," Vance interrupted.

  "Oh, I will," Max said with a vengeful grin. "Call him Mister Magnificent."

  Vance groaned.

  "And if he doesn't mind his manners better, I'll tell you how he got that name."

  I smiled at Max. He was nice, I thought fuzzily, as I slid back asleep. Maybe nice enough that I could convince him to take me home. But only if I knew where Jasyn was with the ship.

  "I've got a liftoff window in half an hour," Vance said.

  "Where are we going?" Max asked.

  I didn't hear the answer. I was asleep.